It was dark in the cargo area, but the night was clear and some light from the carriage's lamps made it through the tarpaulin. It was therefore still bright enough to make out what was going on. The smell of raspberries could be detected here too. Apparently, you could tell where the fairy was by the scent. It reminded Meia of animals. Perhaps the scent was something like a territorial marker? It was possible. Instead of reading novels about fantasy worlds, Meia should probably read more books about her own world, then maybe she would know.

Meia looked around. Out of her line of vision, there was a bench to her left along the side of the wagon all the way to the end. Right next to her, on the bench, there was a small carry box with toiletries and candles. The washing stuff was things like shampoo, hand cream, body oil, toothpaste, toothbrushes and various other brushes and suchlike. In front of the bench on the floor was a second carry box with folded towels that were lying at an angle because they didn't quite fit in. Unusually, there were also two jars of jam in the same box. The varieties were strawberry and apricot. There was no bread to be seen. There was nothing else of interest on this side. At the end of the wagon was a kettle with empty bowls and a gas burner. There was no bench on the right side. From Meia's point of view, there were two large crates, a smaller crate, then a large barrel and preserving jars with bright colors. There were books on one of the large crates. They were all novels. There were also two of Damon Rom. In the middle of the floor of the cargo area were two fur blankets and a cushion, and half under the bench next to them was a rope. That was pretty much all there was here. But Meia was still missing one thing in particular. - The swords were nowhere to be seen.

"Hmm..." ~Maybe Violet put them in one of the crates?~

Meia put the bottle down near the pillow. She looked behind her to make sure the cover was really closed, then undressed, down to her underwear. She put her cloak next to the bottle and the rest of the clothes on top. The last thing she took off was her headband and placed it on top of the clothes.

Meia's hair was about chin-length. The headband was to keep it out of her face while she worked. It wasn't as if Meia had chosen this haircut. After being promoted to maid, she was told that this haircut was compulsory for her and then her long hair was cut off. It was worth mentioning that Meia's colleagues had different hairstyles. Cora's was quite similar, but Innes had long hair and a different hairstyle every day. Meia didn't know why she had to have this particular hairstyle.

Meia wanted to lie down, but something was bothering her. The rope was too close to where she was sleeping. Surely it was better to put it away.

When Meia picked the rope up, she noticed that it was oily. It didn't stop her. It just caught her attention. ~Perhaps for a fire trap?~ However, the rope also looked expensive, because it wasn't a rough rope, but more like a modern mountaineering rope. It would be a shame to burn it. Meia took the rope to the large crates and put it down next to them.

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The large crates were made of dark wood and had a red seal on them. It looked as if they had been treated against water. The dark wood was certainly the most valuable wood in the cargo area. The contents of the crates were certainly valuable too. ~What could he have loaded?~ The crates probably contained rare weapons and equipment. He was a mercenary, after all. The swords were probably in the crates too. Meia struggled with herself. Should she have a quick look in one of the crates? That was certainly ill-mannered. You couldn't just look into other people's crates just because they might contain exotic weapons, just because they were a detective's crates. ~The boxes of a detective...~ On the other hand, maybe Falko didn't mind at all, since he had given Meia permission to look at the books lying on top of those very crates, and maybe there were even more books inside the crates. That was quite possible. It was quite likely even. Meia had made a decision. She would not look into the crate. She would put the rope in one of the crates and coincidentally see the contents of the crate. She just had to be careful. The swords were glowing, after all, and Meia didn't want to alarm anyone unnecessarily.

Meia quietly lifted the lid of a crate. No light appeared. The first thing she could recognize was fur. It seemed there were more fur blankets in the box, like the ones on the floor. It seemed to be full of them. But it also felt like there were other things between the blankets.

Meia felt something hard and pulled the piece out. It was a carving. It was a swan - a very strange swan. Like flat on the water. As if the swan had been hit on the head and was floating unconscious. It had no legs either. The shape was like a hairbrush...? Meias thought about something different for a moment. Erm... It was a fairly simple piece without much detail. It was still impressive, but to someone who couldn't carve at all, perhaps any piece was impressive. The wooden surface was sealed with a clear material. It was probably something like a squeaky duck, only without the squeak. Meia put the swan back and reached a little deeper.

It felt like there were more things. A metal bowl. ~Maybe he has a dog?~ Another mountaineering rope? Glass balls from a fortune teller? There wasn't just fox fur in the box. Meia also felt a fox's tail. She was sure it was one. When she pulled on it, more things appeared. Something black and round that she couldn't recognize, fox ears and a link chain with a necklace. The heart-shaped pendant flipped into the light. In the shine appeared a familiar name.

Meia closed the lid.

There was nothing interesting in the crate.

~He has a dog.~

Meia hurriedly slipped under the blanket, pulled it up over her head and slept.

...

Three seconds later she opened her eyes again and stared in horror at the tarpaulin above her.

~What's the swan for?~

Meia had seen things she should not have seen. What happened to the blanket? What had already happened to the blanket? For once, Meia decided to forgo her favorite sleeping position today. She preferred to lie like a plank to keep the contact surface to a minimum. The harmless towels, the toiletries - everything suddenly appeared in a different light. Even the jam was suspicious. - Especially the jam was suspicious! Why wasn't there any bread? Why was it between the towels? What was the swan for? Mountaineering ropes? Meia now knew for which mountains they were. ~Violet wants to go back with him... The fairy will come too... What are they doing with the fairy?~

Meia was a bad person. Why had she looked into the crate? Why wasn't it nailed shut?

Nervously, Meia looked ahead at the covering.

~Is he watching me right now?~

Meia pulled the blanket higher.

~I didn't see anything.~

.../ End BP004